Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 52: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will publish the heads of legislation in advance of the international conference to be held soon, hosted by Ireland; and if, with the aim of achieving the best possible resolution, he will publish the heads of the Irish legislation in advance of the international conference to be held here in May 2008 with a view to providing a template for the best possible conclusion of the conference. [16824/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am fully committed to the enactment of comprehensive legislation on cluster munitions as soon as possible following the outcome of the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions, which is to be held later this month. The intention will be to allow for the earliest possible ratification by Ireland of the Convention which is to be finalised at the Conference, and which is expected to include not just a ban on cluster munitions causing unacceptable harm to civilians but also provisions regarding assistance to victims, clearance of areas contaminated by unexploded cluster munitions, and assistance in their destruction. In my view it would not make sense to prepare domestic legislation before the final terms of the Convention are known, and for that reason I do not intend to publish heads of legislation before the Conference.

To ensure that the legislation is of the highest possible quality, the Government has decided to establish a new national committee on humanitarian law, which will have as its first task the preparation of this comprehensive legislation on cluster munitions. I wish our legislation to provide a comprehensive model and template for other states as they proceed to implementation of the Convention. It is our intention to advance work on the Bill as quickly as possible following the Conference.